Vending machine



April 5, 1932. A. E. AXELSON ET AL 1,352,392

VENDING MACHINE Filed March 14, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l IN VEN TOR April 5, 1932- a A. E. AXELSON ET AL 1,852,392

VENDING MACHINE Filed March 14, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet '2 4/1/2147 [Axelaon berman chwarfz A TTO NE Y Patented Apr. 5, 1932 UNITED STATlEI TET OFFICE ARTHUR E. AXELSON AND HERMAN IB. SCHWARTZ, OF PORTLAND, OREGON VEHTDING- MACHINE Application filed March 14, 1929.

The object of this invention is to provide a vending machine especially adapted for candy bars and particularly that type referred to as suckers, which comprises a lump ol candy 011 an elongated stick of: substantially lesser diameter. The Variance in cross section of candy or this character causes such candy to stack unevenly and to feed with corresponding lacl: oi regularity in a gra vityteeding vending device.

The details of our improved vending machine and the method of vending such candy bars and such bars themselves are hereinafter described in reference to the accompanying l5 drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is s ction taken on the line 1--l in Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 22 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section taken 011 the line 33 in 1.; and

lligl t is a view of the especially wrapped *andy bar for use in such machine.

Our improved vending machine comprises a casing a having a removable side wall. 7) slidabl-e endwise in engagement with guides or on such casing and held against movement endwise by a movable top or end section 0, which overlies such removable side wall 7). Extending transversely across such cas a partition (Z which serves to divide the casing into two chambers, one chamber for holding the articles to be Vended and a cham ber (L3 in which the money deposited in such '65 vending machine is collected. The floor 6 for the chamber (22 slants at ibstantial. angle towards a discharge opening 7" for such chamber 02. Extending over such opening is a bailie element 9 which also extends in spaced relation over the floor for substantial distance, defining an oblique guide slot h substantially as wide as the thickness of the articles to be vended.

As shown in Fi 1, such battle has a rounded end portion. g, which provides a tunnelshaped opening for such slot 7b to direct the articles into such slot. Extending over such slanting floor 6 is an agitator plate a i. which pockets are laterally formed on centers substantially the diameter of the articles to Serial No. 346,969.

be vended so that if each of such pockets c0ntains an article to be vended, such articles will be arranged in abutment with each other. Each of such pockets slants downwardly so that the article held in such pocket tends 5b to slide out of such pocket, being held therein by its abutment with the adjacent lowerarranged article. The guide slot It thus arranges the articles in a single, downwardly inclined line with such articles arranged in lateral abutment with each other and thus adapted to be fed outwardly thru the dis charge openin The feeding mechanism for such vending machine comprises a feed plate '5, at one end of which a longitudinally arranged slot 2" is locat-ed, which slot is adapted to hold one or more of such articles, depending upon the desired number of articles to be vended at each operation. Such slot is defined by the end of: the feed plate 71, a hinged and weighted gate and the partition (Z. Such feed plate 2' is located by a spring j, which tends to hold such plate against the stop j, in which position the slot 2' is in alinement with the discharge chute 7a, which chute is arranged below the feeding plate i and the length of stroke given such feeding plate 2' is sufficient to discharge the contents of the slot 2" from alinement with the discharge outlet 7 and into the discharge chute j.

Such feed plate carries a post Z in alinement with the slotted end m of the plunger m, which plunger extends thru the wall of the casing a. Such plunger is normally held extended by a coil spring 722, surrounding the shaft of the plunger m and abutting against a collar m3 of such plunger at one end and against the stop at the opposite end, such plunger extending thru such stop.

A coin slot n, slanting downwardly at a uniform angle, deposits a coin inserted into such vending machine into the space 0 between the end of the plunger m and the post Z, a proper coin being held by a receiver 10 in position to span the slotted end a of the plunger and to overlie the post Z. WVith a coin in place, if the plunger m is depressed. the depression of the plunger will shift the feed plate from the position shown in Fig. 1 to a position in which the slot 2" is in alinement with the discharge chute and upon releasing of such plunger m the coin will engage the bottom of the receiver 1) and slide into the money box 9 arranged in the chamber a3 and render inefiective the plunger 0% for a second operation. That is, the slot m is alined with the post Z and the depression thereof will not cause a similar movement to be given the feed plate 2' in the absence of a proper coin arranged in the space 0'.

The agitator plate Z is connected to the feed plate '5 by an articulated connection pivotally connected to both of such plates and thus a given movement of the feed plate 2" will cause the samerelative movement to be given to the agitator plate Z. This causes the same number of articles to be arranged in the guide slot as are discharged from the receiving slot i at the end of the feed plate 2'.

As has heretofore been brought out, our improved vending machine is particularly adapted to vend candy bars and candy suckers which are irregular in outline, and to produce even movement of such articles throughout the vending machine, we wrap each unit of candy 8 in a closely fitting envelope 2? of relatively stiff paper or similar material, the degree of stiffness of paper being sutficient to produce a relatively unyielding unit of uniform diameter in the chamber a2. We say relatively unyielding and by that we mean that the paper itself will not support any great weight, but inasmuch as the candy is stacked with the heads arranged all one way, such unfilled tubes are required to sustain only the weight of the tubes immediately above them and the candy is held in horizontal alinement by the weight of the candy above hem supported by the heads and not by the unfilled tubes. Lateral alinement is maintained by the walls of the casing, the baffle g and the slanting floor and agitating plate Z.

As has heretofore been explained, the movable side wall 6 is held against endwise movement because the movable end or top wall overlies the same, as is shown in Figs. 2 and 8. Such top or end wall 0 carries a keeper u adapted to be engaged by a pivoted toggle or latch member 4) carried by the adjacent side wall of the casinga. An enlongated control lever to is fastened to the opposite side of the pivot of such toggle and extends downwardly into the space occupied by the money box 9. Such money box is controlled by a lock and such toggle lock for the removable top or end element is thus controllable thru the opening for the money box g. Such lock thus not only prevents the locking device from being operated, but also prevents the money from being taken therefrom until after such lock has been opened.

lVe' claim:

In a vending device, a casing defining an article-containing chamber provided with a 

